Longevity begins with alchemy master

Above the bone steps are two huge jawbones covered with sharp fangs.

Its gaping maw, stretched out in a menacing manner, formed a deep passageway that seemed to lead to the stomach of hell.

Luo Chen stood there quietly, his expression neither sad nor happy.

call……

A strong wind howled, carrying with it a strong, pungent smell of blood.

Yuan Qingzang landed in front of Luo Chen, his emotions incredibly complex.

There was a mix of worry and surprise, as well as awe and reverence, and even a touch of guilt.

That battle just now was at a level that no martial arts immortal could reach.

Luo Chen fought head-on without sustaining any damage, but Yuan Qingcang fled in disarray.

"Luo Chen, I'm sorry, I just now..."

"It's alright, I'm already extremely grateful for your reminder." Luo Chen raised his hand to interrupt him, but his gaze remained fixed on the blood-stained door.

Through the endless, dark tunnel, it was as if one could see something.

Yuan Qingzang breathed a sigh of relief, then asked hesitantly, "Do you want to go in?"

Luo Chen nodded, "Of course!"

Yuan Qingzang's eyes widened. "I admit you're very powerful, comparable to the Destruction Kings like the Lord of the Worry-Free Realm and the Heavenly Profound Constellations, but aren't you afraid of offending Shi to death?"

The King of Destruction?
The martial arts king before the Great Cataclysm?

That's a pretty good name.

Ha ha!

"Then the corpse has to actually be here!"

Luo Chen chuckled softly and stepped into the deep, seemingly endless passageway.

Yuan Qing hid at the doorway, looking bewildered.

What does "the corpse is really here?" mean?

Could it be that the corpse has already left the Immortal Realm of Corpses?
Then who issued that Corpse Immortal's finger strike earlier?

Seeing Luo Chen's figure getting further and further away, Yuan Qingcang finally couldn't resist his curiosity and quickly followed after him.

……

In the dimly lit passageway, the lights flickered, and booming and cracking sounds could be heard from time to time.

That sound definitely didn't come from when Yuan Qingzang was traveling.

With his martial arts skills, he wouldn't have made such a commotion that would be discovered.

This indicates that Luo Chen, who is leading the way, is experiencing one battle after another.

Yuan Qingzang looked at the ground and could vaguely see scattered skeletons with Luo Chen's residual qi on them.

"These are puppet bone guards; their defenses are quite tight."

"But why don't the corpses take action themselves? These things clearly pose no threat to Luo Chen."

"Could it be that the corpse is really gone?"

"Then who was it that shouted to retreat earlier, and is now driving the puppet bone guards to block Luo Chen?"

Puzzled, Yuan Qingzang had gradually caught up with Luo Chen's figure.

Without exchanging greetings, the two sides tacitly joined forces to deal with the puppet bone guards surging forward.

Their steps did not falter at all; they killed as many as came, and it was noticeable that they seemed to be spiraling upwards.

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea passes in the blink of an eye.

A sliver of light gradually appeared in the originally dark passageway.

Two figures emerged against the light, and what came into view was a huge altar supported by layers of spiraling white bone staircases twisting and turning!

At the edge of the altar, neat rows of sharp ribs stood upright, like a crown of thorns.

At the very center of the altar was a huge skull.

"corpse?!"

Yuan Qingzang blurted it out.

At the same time, a chilling fire flickered between the skull's eyes, and it emitted a cold, piercing sound.

“Ignorant brat, how dare you disturb us? It’s not too late to leave now.”

Beneath the cold exterior, there was a subtle, seductive undertone.

Yuan Qingzang was somewhat hesitant.

Luo Chen suddenly reached out, and five dragons materialized, grabbing the skull.

"All bark and no bite, all pretense and posturing! Come out here!"

The five dragons suddenly bit down, and the massive skull, unable to withstand the power of the Blood Refining Divine Qi, shattered in an instant.

A ball of milky white light emerged.

"This is……"

Luo Chen stared at the ball of light, lost in thought.

Then, his gaze fell on the altar on the ground.

The patterns are repetitive and mysterious.

Some words are engraved around, and just one glance at them seems to contain the power of heaven and earth.

"Immortal bones...bone demons...the faith of the masses, the power of incense and divine power..."

It's a gold-plated inscription!
Luo Chen recognized this script.

When the Lord of Worry-Free Realm left the Great Destruction Realm, he taught him some skills during those three years in order to help him master the Nine-Layer Immortal Tower.

Although there weren't many, it was enough for Luo Chen to barely recognize some of them from the altar.

With Luo Chen's wisdom, even a small amount of information can be pieced together to arrive at a general conclusion.

Gazing at the milky-white ball of light restrained by the Great Luo Five Dragon Hands, Luo Chen murmured:
"You actually lead these people to believe in you through preaching and spreading your doctrines, providing them with incense and divine power, in an attempt to exist forever and never perish?"

He finally understood where that fleeting sense of familiarity came from.

He had actually witnessed this scene hundreds of years ago.

Western Desert Buddhist Land!

Too many ordinary people practice Buddhism and worship the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in myths and legends.

They built temples and monasteries, spread their teachings, and passed them down from generation to generation, ensuring the incense never died out!
However, Luo Chen's cultivation level was insufficient at that time, and his understanding of the origin of the universe was inadequate, so he failed to perceive its essence.

But Luo Chen now understands that this is actually a kind of cultivation path.

Especially during the two hundred years he cultivated with the power of chaos during the Nine Rings of Destruction, he had witnessed too many kinds of energy.

Therefore, the nature of this milky white light was immediately identified.

"The power of incense?"

As Luo Chen muttered to himself, the light orb lost its previous aloofness and instead emitted anxious cries.

“Fellow Daoist, we have no enmity or grudge against each other, why must you be so ruthless? Why not let me go and we can go our separate ways? Even my corpse will owe you a favor.”

Luo Chen remained silent; what the other party said was true.

Seeing that Luo Chen seemed interested, the ball of light added fuel to the fire and continued, "I observe that your cultivation method also has the style of my demon race. Although I do not know which race your lineage belongs to, my Bone Demon race is considered a major race in the demon realm. If we can both escape this calamity, I can promise to guide you into the demon realm in the future."

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow, not expecting that his creation of "God and Demon Formless" based on "Demon Image Technique" could still be seen through, even though his Blood Refined Divine Qi did not contain the slightest bit of demonic energy.

The ball of light concluded, "To be honest, fellow Daoist, although I am a fragment of will split from the corpse, the connection between us has not been completely severed. If you kill me today, the original body will also find out. I suppose you wouldn't want to offend a King of Destruction!"

The words had barely left his mouth.

Luo Chen's expression suddenly changed, and he clenched his right hand out of thin air.

The five dragons attacked simultaneously, and the milky white light burst instantly, vanishing like a dream bubble.

One of the black wisps, carrying a translucent rib, was about to escape.

But where can it escape to?
Inside the temple, thunder roared, and the black mist suddenly stopped as if struck by lightning. Five dragons roared and tore the black mist to shreds.

Luo Chen reached out and beckoned, and the crystal-clear rib bone, which looked like jade, slowly floated into his hand.

Yuan Qingzang stood to the side, silent as a cicada in winter.

……

As the cycle of ages begins, all things return to nothingness.

The closer we get to the Great Cataclysm, the more frequent the strange phenomena become within the Ruins.

It could be a landslide or a torrent of water from a deep abyss.

The wind howled incessantly, accompanied by bursts of thunder.

The most terrifying spatial rifts, in particular, frequently appear in unstable areas.

Deep within the Ruins of Return, amidst perilous landscapes riddled with spatial rifts, lies a silent "spatial crevice." Spatial rifts and spatial crevices, though seemingly differing by only one character, are entirely different entities.

The former is formed by a spatial rupture, constantly in a state of collapse and reconstruction, and ordinary people simply cannot survive inside it.

However, the spatial gap is a kind of "mezzanine" formed by the interaction of two different spaces.

As long as the space that forms the gap is not destroyed, the gap will always exist, remaining stable and hidden.

And this spatial rift within the Ruins of Return is such an existence.

It has existed for tens of thousands of years, and has survived several periods of destruction and fog.

Even more powerful figures, having wandered into the Ruins, found this place, built a temple there, and lived out their remaining years in peace.

Its name is Ancient God Dojo!

For tens of thousands of years, countless martial artists have explored this place.

They were trying to find the reason why the ancient god's temple had endured for so long, and to find a way out of the Ruins through this place.

But most perish there, and few manage to gain anything and escape unscathed.

Over time, the Ancient God's Dojo was also known as the most dangerous place in the Ruins of Return!

No one dared to set foot there!

However, in the last hundred years or so, more and more martial artists have ventured into the spatial rifts and arrived at the ancient god's dojo.

On a plaza paved with white jade, hundreds of people sat listlessly.

Although each of them possessed a restrained and introspective demeanor, their aura was still astonishing.

The four people sitting in the very center, in particular, drew attention.

They sat there, emitting no aura and revealing no divine intent, yet they stood like pillars supporting the sky, impossible for anyone to ignore.

These four individuals, along with the remaining hundred martial artists, formed a clearly defined group.

Suddenly!
A muffled groan, barely suppressed, echoed across the silent square.

The carefree realm master, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, slowly opened his eyes and looked at the thin, bamboo-like old man in black robes opposite him.

"Shi, what's wrong?"

The old man in black robes looked rather grim, and subconsciously reached out to rub his chest and abdomen.

One rib was missing.

But at that moment, a sudden stinging sensation arose.

He understood why this was the case, but faced with the Lord of Worry-Free Realm's "concern," he simply shook his head.

"It's nothing."

The Lord of the Worry-Free Realm frowned.

To his left sat a handsome, middle-aged Taoist priest with striking features and sharp eyebrows.

Wearing a purple Taoist robe adorned with stars, he exuded an air of mystery and nobility.

The Taoist priest had also opened his eyes, staring at the black-robed old man with a dignified gaze.

"Corpse, if there are any changes that we are unaware of, we hope you will share them truthfully and not keep anything to yourself."

The corpse coldly observed, saying indifferently, "Tianxuan Liesu, you'd better mind your own business!"

The purple-robed Taoist, known as Tianxuan Liesu, twitched the corners of his mouth and said with a forced smile, "It's not for my sake, but because this operation is a gamble for everyone. I don't want to harm everyone because of your selfishness. After all, you are the only survivor who experienced the destruction fog ten thousand years ago, entered the ancient god's dojo, and returned safely."

At this point, the gray-robed elder, the only one among the four who hadn't moved, slowly opened his eyes.

He did not join the conversation, but instead looked up at the sky above the square.

In that high place, amidst the drifting clouds and mist, a corner of magnificent gold and jade could be vaguely seen.

Without opening its mouth, it emitted a terrifying sound that sounded like crying and sobbing as its abdomen throbbed.

How long will it take for the Ancient God's Dojo to be fully opened?

This issue has touched the hearts of everyone.

Not only the Lord of Wuyou Realm and the Heavenly Profound Constellation, but even the group of martial artists sitting around them all looked over.

Numerous gazes converged, creating a sense of unease, yet the corpse remained indifferent.

The Lord of Worry-Free Realm frowned and said, "Old Monster Tianku is right. We have been sitting here for over a hundred years, releasing our martial arts divine intent to attack the gate of that dojo every now and then, but we haven't seen a single crack. Corpse, you should give us an explanation!"

Tianxuan Liesu also stared at the corpse at the same time.

All eyes were on them; the atmosphere was oppressive.

The corpse finally spoke slowly.

"It will take at least sixty years, or at most a hundred years, before the fog of destruction arrives, the Ancient God's Dojo will open."

After saying this, he closed his eyes again and fell silent.

However, his palms were still unconsciously rubbing his chest and abdomen.

……

"what is this?"

Yuan Qingcang came closer and looked curiously at the crystal-clear, jade-like bone.

"The corpse's ribs?"

"Perhaps..."

Luo Chen responded, then slowly ran his hand over the jade bone, and the restrictions on it began to crumble inch by inch.

Those restrictions may seem powerful, but they are merely strong in power; their structure is extremely rudimentary.

Luo Chen's mastery of array formations is unparalleled, and with the powerful Qi of Blood Refining Divine Qi, breaking it would not be difficult for him.

A moment later, the black aura swirling around the jade bone completely dissipated, revealing a sense of ethereal beauty.

Luo Chen pursed his lips and infiltrated it with his divine sense.

In a split second, he blurted it out.

"what!"

"what happened?"

Luo Chen smiled and took out a stone the size of a fist.

Yuan Qingzang glanced at it and suddenly realized, "So it's a hollow bud crystal!"

Luo Chen countered, "Brother Yuan, you also recognize this object?"

Yuan Qingzang replied naturally, "Of course I know it. After all, there were rumors that Void Bud Crystals could help people survive the Great Cataclysm. But rumors are just rumors. Who could possibly collect so many Void Bud Crystals? However... Void Bud Crystals the size of a fist are really rare!"

Indeed, this is rare. The largest piece Luo Chen had ever obtained before was no more than this.

It was a gift from the Lord of the Worry-Free Realm.

However, Yuan Qingzang made a mistake in saying one thing.

It's not that no one can gather enough empty crystals to construct a space.

Right now, inside this rib, there is a “massive” amount of hollow bud crystals!
"Were these empty bud crystals used by the corpse as a last resort to protect the will that had split off from itself?"

Luo Chen seemed to be deep in thought.

The faith of all people, the power of incense and prayer.

Bone Demon Secret Technique, Empty Sprout Hut.

That corpse left behind a lot of backup plans for the will to separate!

Now it's actually benefiting me.

For two hundred years, the Vacuum Gu had long since consumed all the empty bud crystals and empty prisms it had collected. Due to food shortages, it had no choice but to fall into a deep slumber once again.

Now that we have such a large quantity of empty crystals, we can finally have a feast.

Perhaps I can even take this opportunity to break through to the fifth-order divine Gu level in one go!

Yuan Qingcang looked at the bone curiously, "Is it just empty bud crystals?"

Luo Chen smiled and took out a black scroll made of bone. "There's also a demonic cultivation technique. Would you like to see it?"

Yuan Qingzang showed little interest, but hesitated more about Luo Chen.

Seeing his hesitant expression, Luo Chen left only the black bone slip and carefully stored the ribs close to his body.

"Fellow Daoist, if you have something to say, please speak frankly."

Yuan Qingzang was a little hesitant at first, but finally couldn't help asking, "Brother Luo, how exactly did you manage to combine the three techniques into one and instantly unleash the Raging Torrent Annihilation Realm?"

"Oh, so that's what it is!"

Luo Chen smiled and then spoke frankly.

"These techniques were learned from you, so I can share the tips and insights with you without any problem. However..."

Luo Chen's gaze swept over everything in the White Bone Temple, lingering for a long time on the White Bone Altar as if trying to memorize it deeply, before finally turning and leaving.

"Let's leave here first!" (End of Chapter)